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Oakland - The Diesel Readers discuss "About a Boy"

Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland welcomes The Diesel Readers back to the store to discuss About a Boy by Nick Hornby on Monday, February 24th at 7pm.

Meet 36-year-old Will Freeman, a superficial fellow who hasn't had to
work a day in his life, thanks to royalties garnered from a popular
Christmas ditty his father wrote. He's perfectly happy living alone in
his fashionable, Lego-free flat, with its expensive stereo equipment,
hardwood floors, and cream-colored rug that nobody has ever thrown up
on. But Will's life takes an unexpected turn when, in a pathetic attempt
to expand his potential dating pool into the realm of single mothers,
he poses as a single dad.

Though Will's subterfuge fails to land
him a woman, it does thrust him into an ersatz father/son relationship
with Marcus, a 12-year-old loner whose life is in a tailspin after his
mother's suicide attempt. Constantly picked on by bullies at school,
Marcus's only consolation comes from the music of Nirvana, until he
meets Will. Determined to forge a friendship with the very hip Will, the
boy refuses to leave him alone. Imagine Will's surprise when he finds
himself bonding with Marcus, who is more of a handful than anyone could
bargain for.

Spring approaches and horizons widen and extend. Whether armchair travel, real world journeys, or explorations of the imagination, books provide the best guides. We have been passionately traversing the pages of novels, narrative nonfiction, histories, mysteries, art books and poetry from throughout the world and across the dimensions.